Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The Rwanda ministry of Health has issued health safety guidelines to incoming passengers from Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, USA and Spain or traveled to those countries in the last 22 days.

The passengers are to call a toll free line (114) on a daily basis to report about their health status for the duration of their stay in the country or for 21 days if they are to stay longer.

Spain recorded deaths of two missionary priests who separately contracted Ebola in Sierra Leona and Liberia. However the Spanish nursing assistant who worked on them successfully recovered from the virus.

USA has recorded one death, two confirmed infections of two nurses while more than 100 are being tracked.

More than 45,000 have died of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria (yesterday declared Ebola-free).

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Uganda Tourism Board informs all visitors, travellers and tourists, domestic and international that the Health status of the country is okay contrary to some media reports.On 28th September 2014, one case of the Marburg hemorrhagic fever was reported and the people closest to this individual were immediately quarantined. Results after screening them confirmed negative of the Marburg virus and they still remain under the watch of health professionals.

As a country, we pride in the safety of all our visitors, tourists and nationals both in safety and health issues. To this effect, the Ministry of Health has urged members of the public to avoid unnecessary body contact such as handshakes.

We further wish to reiterate that Uganda is Ebola-free and to-date not a single case has been reported within our borders.

Whereas we pledge to keep all our visitors and travelers informed about the situation in the country, we also urge the media to report accurately and encourage visitors to come to our country.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

The construction of Uganda Martyrs Museum in Namugongo yesterday picked steam with Uganda president Yoder Muse Venice donating shs.410m during a special service for fundraising and laying its foundation stone.

The shs 36bn multipurpose complex Museveni was told, is expected to be built in phases with its tentative completion date being late 2018.

The site upon which the museum is being built is the place where 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic martyrs were burnt to death in 1886 on the orders of Kabaka Manga the then king of Buganda kingdom the biggest tribe in Uganda.

The leadership of the church of Uganda hope the complex will help add value to a historical site that annually draws thousands of pilgrims and tourists to Uganda on account of its significance to the Christian faith. The Martyrs Day is celebrated every June 3, at the shrine.

Drawing parallels between history of Uganda martyrs and Ugandan's struggle to free their country from fangs of tyranny, a jovial Museveni lacing his speech with biblical verses, said "the culture of heroism and martyrdom is part of Uganda's history.

"Bazillion Okello confronted some peasants in Luwero and gave them a condition to either reveal where the rebels were or face death. They chose to die although they knew where the rebels were hiding, " Museveni said.

"So, Uganda's heroes, just like the Martyrs died for a noble cause for which we remember them every year."

Museveni, who had carried along shs 40m in cash, increased his pledge to shs 400m with the balance of shs 360m to be paid this week.

Museveni also auctioned a portrait of Petero Kisosonkole - the landlord who donated 48 acres of the land where the museum is being built - at shs 65m, with himself forking out shs 10m for it.

In order to raise the tourism potential of the museum and the annual Uganda Martyrs fete in Namugongo, Museveni promised that the road from Kireka to Namugongo will soon be revamped with public walkways.

Earlier, the archbishop of Uganda,the Most Reverend Stanley Ntagali led the service graced by Vice President, Edward Ssekandi, the Catholic Bishop of Kampala Diocese, Dr. Cipriano Kizito Lwanga and the top echelon of the Anglican Church in Uganda.